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My first DS system

Post Date: 2010-05-30
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Alfy View Drop Down
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Posts: 3 		  Quote Alfy Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: My first DS system
    Posted: 30 May 2010 at 2:59pm
Hello all, I have been planning to purchase a new gaming rig for quite some time now. I've researched just about every option and system in my price range. I'm looking to spend no more than $1900. I've thought about building a PC and feel I could(never done it before), but I have decided to go with DS because of the good reviews and prices. So my total budget for this system is $1900 NOT including a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers; simply the tower is all I am looking to purchase from DS. Also, this computer will run FSX exclusively as the gaming side goes. I do not play any other games on a PC however, I will also be using this computer for 3D modeling(Engineer), music, movies, etc... I do plan to upgrade a few things in the distant future(bluray, SSD, WiFi+Bluetooth).

Here is the build I'm looking at:

Ticket Number: 410553
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,867.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=410553

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Ironclad
Exterior Finish: - Not Available
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 Micro Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) (NOTE: Disables 2 Front USB Ports)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVDąR/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: Touch 2000 Aerocool Temperature Display & Fan Controller (Requires Chassis Airflow Upgrade)
Chassis Mods: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: - Not Available
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - Not Available
Boost Memory: - Not Available
Boost OS: - Not Available
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - Not Available
Office: - Not Available
Benchmarking: - Not Available
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: FREE PROMO: 4 Year Limited Warranty with Life-Time Customer Support


I plan to purchase tomorrow so I can get the 4 year warranty.
Also, I would like to use a HDTV 1080P 120Hz ~32"-40" for a computer monitor. Tell me, what are the advantages/disadvantages of doing this? I assume I could use a HDMI cord from the GPU to the tv.

All suggestions are welcome so please tell me what you think.
Thanks!

Edited by Alfy - 30 May 2010 at 3:00pm
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 30 May 2010 at 4:02pm
Okay, I gotta tell you I don't know the answer to your TV as monitor question. A lot of people do it, so no reason you can't get away with it, too. It may be the response times for TV's are poor for intense gaming, but you don't have to worry about that.
However, I am concerned you are under powered for that big a screen, or even a smaller one for the 3d modeling.
Let me recommend this build:
 

Ticket Number: 410566
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,885.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=410566

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Ironclad
Exterior Finish: - Not Available
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 Micro Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series  (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) (NOTE: Disables 2 Front USB Ports)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - Not Available
Chassis Mods: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: - Not Available
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - Not Available
Boost Memory: - Not Available
Boost OS: - Not Available
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - Not Available
Office: - Not Available
Benchmarking: - Not Available
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: FREE PROMO: 4 Year Limited Warranty with Life-Time Customer Support

Hit your budget with a gpu that will perform much better for you. I dumped the "appearance" items you had and here's some reasons. The "perfomance" fans are known to be loud and don't perform very well after all. The Temp display, I have to admit looks pretty cool, but unfortunately doesn't control all your case fans, nor does it give you very accurate temps. There are freeware apps out there which will do both those things better.
I bumped you up to the Corsair PSU, because it's more reliable and better quality.
We usually recommend Win7 Pro, because it has an XP mode available Home doesn't have, and often folks have legacy software that's not gonna be adapted for Win 7. Could be a concern for your favorite 3D modeling software? I didn't put it in, bvecause it put us over $1900, but it's only $32 if you want to add it. Retail is $80, so it's a bargain here.
If you gotta have your pretties, you could get a ATI 5870 and save $70, which would be a pretty good idea anyway. And you could get the stock (Chieftec) PSU and save another $30. Your call. Hope this helps.
Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Intel Core i7 930 3.8GHz OC
EVGA X58 LE
6GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ram
750W Corsair
1TB HDD
1x ATI RadeonHD 5870 1GB
Noctua Dual 120mm
I can make my mind think... anything....
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!ender_ View Drop Down
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Posts: 4219 		  Quote !ender_ Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 30 May 2010 at 5:45pm
cretae has you set up pretty good there, and it sounds like you really dont game all that much so changes to his set up will rely on your preference for screen. if you link a specific product for us, we can look into it a little more, but in general you may expierence some ghosting and odd picture as lots of newer tvs are adding gimmicks to motion and contrast etc
 
as far as the overclocking, i want to see something more solid than everyone just saying that everyone else is saying its loud. i have dso case cooling and i even added some of my own on top of that, i still dont consider my computer loud. the only time that i personally have seen someone comment on how loud their comp was is when DSO was selling cooler master stacker 830s with 9 120mm fans. i mean of course that would be loud, its like a wind tunnel.
 
but thats neither here nor there, with what youre going for here alfy, you may not even need to overclock, at least not to any high limits, maybe just enough to get a little free power, but it shouldnt be to a limit that needs more cooling than your Noctua
if youre on a budget under 2k, and you can still get the best availible gpu, i would absolutely go for it. visual frills are just that, frills. unless its more important to you that your case look really good than your picture, stay close to cretae's suggestions on this one
 
a little googling brought me to this..
Originally posted by Article

Now, here is where you might get a little disappointed when trying to connect computer to TV. Your TV's usual video signal is called NTSC (PAL if you live in Europe). This signal is different than the one generated by your computer. Computers use signals measured by pixels: 320x200, 320x240, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. Most TV's can only get about 500 lines of resolution, in computers this is like 500 vertical pixels. The video amplifiers in televisions cannot handle higher resolutions either. So when you factor these things together you are left with a maximum resolution of 640x480.

This is not the worst thing in the world because even so, when you connect a computer to a TV you can play games and watch video in lower resolutions without a problem. It's just that you will never get close to the resolution your computer monitor will give you. Beware of some PC to TV adapters that claim to give you more than 640x480, they just reduce the quality of the original television signal to compensate.

You can get a VGA to component cable for an HDTV that will give you higher resolutions but you need an HDTV and an adapter that costs usually 2-3 times more than your standard computer to tv adapter. Any way you choose, it is not hard to use your TV as a computer monitor if you follow the few steps above.

http://www.howtodothings.com/electronics/a3543-how-to-use-your-tv-as-a-computer-monitor.html

not sure how reputable this site is, its just something to think about. for the price you could probably get a pretty sick monitor, but again, goes back to preference


Edited by !ender_ - 30 May 2010 at 5:52pm
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FrankW View Drop Down
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Posts: 2254 		  Quote FrankW Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 10:44am
Hi Alfy,

You should check out the EVGA X58 LE mobo instead of the micro. Go to the EVGA site and make sure you really want the micro board. The LE is +$29 but to me it is worth it for the additional expansion.
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Posts: 4219 		  Quote !ender_ Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 11:17am
for the value, youre right it is worth it... if he will use it, if he does not intend to use it then the money will be wasted and he is clearly on a budget
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Alfy View Drop Down
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Posts: 3 		  Quote Alfy Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 12:09pm
Thanks for all of the responses! Cretae, I've given your post a lot of thought and I think I will drop the eye candy for more performance. Even though I only play FSX, I want the best performance from my budget for good fps.
A question about the mobo: What upgrade advantages are there for the one you listed over the micro? For instance, what could be added in the future? Sorry for the questions, I'm new to all this.

Thanks!

Edited by Alfy - 31 May 2010 at 12:11pm
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DST4ME View Drop Down
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 4:29pm
you can use your tv as a monitor but its not the best idea IMO.

LE offers more pci slots, so in the future you can add sound cards, wireless cards, maybe usb 3.0/sata 3.0 cards, tv cards, etc, I say go for LE also.

Cretae's build looks great I rather see it with a haf or sniper.

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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 6:10pm
I went with the micro for you because I didn't think you'd ever want/need more than one gpu for your uses. By the time you might need more, there will be a better one card option than there is now.
Specifically, the gpu's are so big, they fit in one slot, but cover up the next slot. So, the micro has 4 slots total, but 2 go to the 480, leaving 2 open for sound card, video capture, or mebbe a USB 3.0 card, etc. If you wanted another gpu in there, it would leave you no uncovered slots. It's my understanding at present that FSX does not recognize/support crossfire or SLI, so I figured you would not go there.
Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Intel Core i7 930 3.8GHz OC
EVGA X58 LE
6GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ram
750W Corsair
1TB HDD
1x ATI RadeonHD 5870 1GB
Noctua Dual 120mm
I can make my mind think... anything....
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Alfy View Drop Down
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Posts: 3 		  Quote Alfy Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 6:20pm
I went ahead and got the LE just for the upgrade-ability in the future. You're correct, there are no advantages to crossfire or SLI in FSX. I still would like to add things in the future so the extra slots will help. I went with your build, Cretae. I did go a little over budget with the upgrade plus shipping, however. Thanks for everyone's help.

On the TV issue.... I have access to a newer Samsung 40" 1080P 120hz tv that I can try out before I decide on a monitor.

Thanks again.
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 6:40pm
Very happy for you. You are gonna hate the torture waiting, LOVE the system. Congrats, man!Evil%20Smile
Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Intel Core i7 930 3.8GHz OC
EVGA X58 LE
6GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ram
750W Corsair
1TB HDD
1x ATI RadeonHD 5870 1GB
Noctua Dual 120mm
I can make my mind think... anything....
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 31 May 2010 at 8:14pm
Ya the LE for $35 is worth it, keeps options open Our pleasure and good luck

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